For my take – I decided to share some photos from Atlanta, Georgia at night.

When I first heard the prompt, my mind went to weather. However, recent photos from Atlanta stopped me – especially when I saw this photo of a single chair behind gates, I decided to share some “cold-vibe” photos from Atlanta at night.

1) This chair has a cold, lonely feeling. What do you think? Also, my son has been reading Seth Godin books this year, which led me to skim a few. This weekend, I went over to Seth’s blog (here) and found some interesting takeaways. Like this: “Not everyone appreciates your efforts to be remarkable. In fact, most people don’t. So what? Most people are ostriches, heads in the sand, unable to help you anyway. Your goal isn’t to please everyone. Your goal is to please those that actually speak up, spread the word, buy new things or hire the talented.”

2) Cool architecture, but sometimes there is a coldness to such materials. And a takeaway from Seth’s blog: “Stripping away the artifice doesn’t always leave something pure. It often creates banality, the simple commodity that’s easy to buy cheaper one click away. The elegant nothing brands aren’t about nothing. Not all. They merely have a different, more difficult sort of artifice. The artifice of no artifice. The elegance of leading with utility as its own form of style” (Seth Godin from Elegance of Nothing).

3) Concrete steps, iron railings, strong brick – materials that HOLD IN THE COLD. But I also see “safety” here – strength and durability. We might take it for granted that “codes” were followed that keep us safe. And Seth Godin (here) noted: “Everything in our built world – the water we drink, the food we eat, the place we live – if it’s good, it’s good because someone, a generation or two ago, decided to make it better. And if it’s not good, or not good enough, only our action is going to make it better. We can see the world around us, and if we try, we can see it becoming better.”

4) In this photo – A covered area keeps folks warm from outside elements. 5) Sometimes you do not get to enter. Cold – but just how it is. Goodbye. Please go. 6) Can traffic in a big city feel cold? Sure can. Slow… cold… doing the ten-mile-an-hour roll…7A) More iron, more concrete – and a girl – chilling out back – away from the street 7B) Detail from the previous image. What does it mean when Martin said, “nothing burns like the cold”? – What does it mean for this girl to “be alone – on her phone – back from the road?” What does it mean to “make it our business to build fires to combat the cold?” Seth Godin noted that developing empathy can be difficult because “understanding someone else’s story is hard, a job that’s never complete, but it’s worth the effort.” Sure is worth the effort – and we can all bring a little more warmth into the world.

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8) Blue lights are cool – with a purplish hue… and so looking up I see possibility! Seth Godin (here) reminds us that “not everyone knows anything” (or everything perhaps) – and sometimes we have a vision for something that others will never fully see: “Since no one is sure, since no one can guarantee that it’s going to work (or not), all we can do is our best work. All we can do is share our ideas with generosity, speak up and shine a light.Critics can share their experience and they can point out what doesn’t match their expectations.But it’s up to you, the person on the hook, to choose to care enough to share your project and your vision of possibility, regardless.”

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Thank you for checking out the photos for this week’s LA challenge.

And I hope you enjoyed Seth Godin’s quotes. Here is a little video snippet of him:

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CARE TO JOIN in with the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – or to get more info? Go here

thanks for the “out loud laugh” with your fun comment.
I wonder why the chair was there too –
and a few hours later – the chair was gone.
But I was “all pictured out” at that point – and did not get a photo of it…

This is a really interesting post, Yvette. While I’ve heard of Seth Godin so many times, I’d never taken the time to find out anything about him. You made me do that. Thank you. I was particularly moved by this quote, ‘Everything in our built world – the water we drink, the food we eat, the place we live – if it’s good, it’s good because someone, a generation or two ago, decided to make it better. And if it’s not good, or not good enough, only our action is going to make it better. We can see the world around us, and if we try, we can see it becoming better.” That certainly gives one pause and is worth sharing.
And I really enjoyed the video you shared. What an inspirational and motivational talk – all in just a few minutes.
I’m pleased I stopped by your post today. I learned new things and was exposed to new ideas. Wonderful!

glad to share today. The video was literally the only “short” video I could find in my quick YouTube search. The first three pages of his videos were all such long videos (19 minutes, 48, etc.) and I finally found that one – with the three minutes – I watched it and felt like it was the exact kind of snippet to fit in – so whew – double win – found a short clip and then had it sync a bit.
I just heard of him this year – and he is a complete encourager and so I think that is why I could not put his books down. They edify and lift up the reader.

Hi Yvette, what a great post. Seth Godin talks a lot of sense. We could do with more like him in the world! I love his statement that Guttenburg launched his printing press before most people could read. I hadn’t thought of it like that before, but it’s so true! A really refreshing look at life and how to approach it’s challenges. 🙂

thanks for the nice comment – and I totally agree that we “could do with more like him in the world” – and I look forward to exploring more of his material in 2020
wishing you a great week ahead and hello to Stuart form moi

Hi Leya – Set was new to me too – but a few times this year, I grabbed a book from my son’s bookshelf (my son had around six of them) and every time – I COULD NOT PUT THE BOOK DOWN – Seth is engaging – sometimes his words feel odd – like “plaid on stripes with paisley mixed in” but then the ideas all come together to where the bulb comes on….

Hi Su – Seth was BRAND NEW to me this year (where have I been – living under a rock sheltered in Word-Press land?? I think so) and my take on the challenge was “winging it” and whew – glad it worked out. I knew I wanted some quotes this week (like many of the Lens-artista’s add) and glad it came out the way it did…

Yes, but as noted in a comment – sometimes his word choices seem so odd – kind of “out there” – or his examples are weird – but he always brings the idea back around to make his point. I like the way his mind works – but he has a unique way of giving examples that is for sure

thanks so much Dan – there is this little spot between buildings that the blue-is one was taken – they have a glass ceiling there with lights dangling- looks better in person even tho we did not “love” it there

thanks so much John, and I promise you that my winter photos would have been featured if they were easier to find. Most of my photos are on a different user and so when I started looking – I was not in the mood to HUNT! so laziness led to creativity I guess – and I really appreciate the nice comment. felt nice to read…
🙂

As I’ve said before, I adore your street photography. Atlanta is a great place to capture interesting shots. Nice take on the prompt. I wrote a long comment yesterday, can’t remember what I said! I thought it was your site, but come to find out it was a router issue on my home network that caused the problem. Long story short – I like Seth, get his blog feed daily, and am intrigued by his ‘no comment or like status’ and wonder what you think about that? I also recently listened to some of his podcasts and he mentions, “If your followers don’t miss you when you take a break, then you haven’t found what works yet.” Or something along those lines. Hmm…obviously he’s not a personal blogger, but has found a niche that he stumbled upon YEARS ago! Always a joy to hear your thoughts and to see your posts!

Hi Shelley –
First of all – this post was inspired by you and your comment about liking my street shots (I sat down and had a little time to create a post and your comment was fresh in my mind – so thanks for that – but I also just posted an Atlanta post and decided a part 2 would fit nice – and turns out we are watching the NFL game live from Atalanta right now – so nice timing ! )
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Regarding Seth – I think you said it well – not a “personal” blogger in the way it is not open for comments or likes or hearts or whatever –
And as I skimmed tons of his blog posts – I did notice him not having that and you are right – it takes out the “personal” aspect of blogging interaction – which I can understand how that likely works for him and his goals.
A while agai, Little Feats blogger (here) made a post for bloggers talking about deciding what your “end game” goals were – and deciding what you want from blogging – why you are here – what do you want to give – get – etc.
..
And for some reason with seth’s blog posts I never felt the urge to want to comment – maybe I was primed to know it was not part of the MO there – and that was in my mind – but contrast that to a post I read recently from a wordpress blogger (her handle is something like the cranky giraffe – a young physician) and she made a post about fake, celebs – all inspired by these photos that were digitally combined – and one of them had lady Gaga and then the quote from her about “fame is a prison” –
And her writing was so inciting – so opinionated – I really wanted to chime in. But she disabled comments – and so in that case I was disappointed because “closed comments” on “fresh” posts in WP are not the norm – further – the content was The kind that seemed to beg for discussion ! But she shut it down! And it almost felt rude – like – here is my rant – now go – thanks for hearing me and my really strong view!
In contrast – seth’s posts were teaching – or inspiring – or presenting a business point – or mentioning an economic trend – and never felt like we were cut off without being able to opine.
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How do you feel about his his no comments or likes ?

Aw, thanks, I’m tickled that my comments inspired you to share more street photos.
I agree with your take on Seth’s posts. And I get the same vibe when I visit blogs where I might want to comment, but I can’t.
There’s a blurry line that I can’t quite get a grasp on with blogging and commenting and all that goes with it. Taking a step back from some of it may just help.
Seth is so popular now – I think he just blogs everyday ‘cuz it’s a fun habit. He doesn’t need feedback to encourage him, the shares of his posts does that for him. I don’t know that I’d miss his posts if they were gone from my daily emails though… And I don’t know that my readers would miss mine either. Somehow we all contribute to the noise, how does one standout, that’s the question I wonder what you think is the answer to?

Got cut off – part 2
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Re: “not” missing someone’s posts –
I know what you mean about “not” – but do want to say be very careful before you minimize the lives you touch with your blog – or the way it might impact someone – you never can full see the reach.
I know you know about how numbers don’t matter (and Seth reminds us it’s better to have 100 like-minded followers of connected people rather than have 3,000 that are not target audience or in sync with our essence)
Anyhow – sometimes we will never fully see the lives we touch with posts – or comments!!
Some posts will come up later when someone looks for something specific – like your home remodeling might (will) get some random hits later when people look for ideas of experiences with that – and that has value – the blogger “Joeyfullystated” (we both know her – right) has a handwriting post that continues to be a top post for her…. and she never sees the eyes soaking it up.

And so “how do we stand out”
By being original
Being who we are
By not going for numbers but valuing our following
By not comparing – and by being confident and okay if a post only gets two comments or no comments and not getting deflated if we someone who has 80 comments and 150 likes.
We stand out by blogging for what our needs are that season – making sure we don’t let it annoy us from habit and become obligatory (and fasting or cutting back from posting helps me monitor the black hole snagging)

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And I wonder if Seth “batches” his blog posts…
My hubs does the batching for his business posts and that is a different approach from “hobby bloggers” even though some hobbyist make moola from ads, book sales, products, etc
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Lastly – comments also bring with it that social aspect that is like any other social engagement – it brings in human personality – moods – opinions – misinterpretation – bias – etc- and so there are times the engagement is a fuel and energizing boost – other times when comments might “pull” if a person has an empty social cup.
“Interacting” with comments is a different “gear” and the post content can bring about different emotions and experiences for the blog author –
And so I think fasting with blog breaks helps with that.

I really like your artistic take on this challenge. These photos are indeed cold. I’m going to write a “Cold” post tomorrow, but will go for the easier weather theme, as our world was a magical winter wonderland when we woke up this morning. Fabulous photos !

Thanks sorryless – I was “winging it” with seth’s quotes and did not feel like I had to have a quote for every photo – and glad it worked out for “cold”
And love how you said “still million miles apart” – I always forget what a huge city Atlanta is – until we start seeing those huge highways

When I'm not plotting my next book, I watch movies and television programs, both new and old, on Acorn TV, Amazon, BritBox, Hulu, and Netflix. Afterward, I write reviews and scatter popcorn kernels. Whatever floats your remote is fine with me.